State of the Left: Brexit: The real lesson for Europe's left

Since Britain’s vote for Brexit, much of the
political attention elsewhere in Europe has been on which EU member
might be the ‘nexit’.

But as this week’s State of the Left explores, the prospect of further
referendums on leaving the EU is not the only take away for
progressives.

The pattern of voting in the British poll showed the real and present
danger of traditional working class voters no longer feeling the left
speaks to their concerns. A pattern emerging Europe-wide as the growth
of populist forces continues at the expense of the main parties of the
centre left.

Looking at the soon to be re-run Austrian presidential election, Gerhard
Marchl highlights the eerie similarity between the electoral groups who
supported the Freedom party’s candidate and those who backed Brexit in
the UK. He argues that the real lesson from Brexit is not about who will
be next to leave, but how can progressives re-engage with their
traditional voter bases.